Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez compared Colombia to “Israel” as tensions between the two nations flared.
Chavez, the autocrat whose relations with the United States have worsened as he has befriended Iran and Cuba, moved troops to the border with Colombia last week after Colombian troops raided a Colombian rebel retreat in Ecuador.
“We aren’t going to permit Colombia to become the Israel of these lands,” he said.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), the ranking member of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, on Friday said the remark “reveals his anti-Israel bias, a growing contempt for democracy and his embrace of violent extremism.” Ros-Lehtinen has taken the lead in targeting Chavez’ Iran ties.
